The relationship between personality traits and information competency in Korean and American students

We examined differences between Korean and American cultures in terms of the relationships between Big Five personality traits (McCrae & Costa, 1990) and information competency. Korean (n = 245) and American (n = 185) college students completed the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992) and the Information Competency Scale (Kwon, 2010). Results showed both similarities and differences between the 2 culture groups. Conscientiousness and openness to experience significantly predicted information competency in both Korean and American students. However, the influence of extraversion was significant only for American students. This result may be because of the high value placed on extraversion in American culture.